There comes a time in any business, when the original founders either retire, move on, and in some cases are pushed out. Bill Gates is no exception. I don't think it matters who you are, running any business for as long as Bill Gates has run Microsoft, and the time for change is now.
Fortunately for everyone on the planet, Bill (can I call him Bill?) will make his final trip to the Microsoft campus as a full time employee this week. Sure he's the Chairman and will still be involved in corporate decisions, but he really is walking away.
I've had a long time love hate relationship with Microsoft. And at times with Bill. However, the software his company makes has allowed me to build my business and make a living, and that's something I'm thankful for. This isn't a sappy retrospective of Microsoft or Bill Gates, but it is a momentous occasion for everyone, for two reasons.
First I think Microsoft will become need to be a leaner meaner company. As stated in Steve Levey's Newsweek
article:
Since Gates and his partner Paul Allen invented the PC software industry (they formed Microsoft to write the first program for the very first personal computer, the Altair), one can say that an era is truly ending. On the other hand, critics of Microsoft contend that Gates's departure is anticlimactic—because the company is past its prime. "The Gates era has already ended—this is the coda," says Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus, the spreadsheet giant humbled by Microsoft in the 1980s. "Today, Google is the defining company in the industry."
I agree with this statement.
Google, and companies like Google, are the future of global technology. Not being tied to one specific operating system or computer platform, Google is able to move with the demand of its customers and the market. But Microsoft can survive if it wants too.
I think in order for this new Microsoft to take shape, it needs to shed its old image, and old management style, and take queues from the faster, smarter start up community. With the vast amount of resources Microsoft has at its disposal, they could reduce overhead, split up into multiple companies, and, as bizarre as this may sound, focus more on non-os or platform specific software, and build products that everyone can use.
Many of you may think I'm living in fantasy land, and that may be, some of the time, but I truly think Microsoft can make changes and compete, but will they? I doubt it.
Second, the
Bill and Melinda Gates foundation is exactly where I would expect Bill to spend the rest of his working life. The people of this planet will benefit from his success for the foreseeable future. I know this is where he can make the biggest impact. I would also hope he becomes an advocate for other wealthy individuals to follow his foot steps. I know some have, but there is so much to be done.
I wish Bill luck in his new, or rather different, life.
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